Lenhardt is especially excited about the Bulldogs’ goalie situation. They have four legitimate options: a pair of returning starters, sophomore Sebastian Pino and junior Andrew Pedraza; Lincoln Land Community College transfer Ubaldo Olvera, and freshman Antonio Marti-Polo from Valencia, Spain.

Olvera had a 1.33 goals against average for the 14-7 Loggers last year.

“We have depth,” Lenhardt said. “We have two to three guys at every position that can go in there right away and contribute.”

Freshman outside fullback Eseosa Okunmwendia is one of those players. He’s a former sprinter from the Boston area who received college track offers. Another key newcomer is Springfield High graduate Zephen Merreighn, who appeared on the National Soccer Coaches of America Association All-Midwest team. The forward recorded 24 goals and 31 assists senior year.

“I think we’re going to have a high-powered offense,” Lenhardt said.

Benedictine scored just 14 goals last year with sophomore defender Pedro Parra leading the team with four.

Robert Morris

Senior midfielder Jonathan Hott and senior forward Josh Ramirez should carry a larger load than expected for Robert Morris University.

“(Hott) is the guy we’re going to count on to go through the middle,” RMU coach Chuck Eguez said. “Josh Ramirez will be our main striker. He’s the guy we’re looking to get some more goals.

“We’ve got a solid core of players, but we don’t have a bench. We had 22 guys last year and played 17 or 18.”

Eguez recently lost four starters unexpectedly from that 8-11 team.

“I was hoping with all those guys back it would be a good solid year,” he said. “It might kind of be a rebuilding year again. We’re still shooting for the national tournament, so the guys get their feet wet for next year when we host nationals and get an automatic bid.”